Uruguayan fisheries under an increasingly globalized scenario: long-term landings and bioeconomic trends

The study analyzes the Uruguayan industrial fishery sector from 1960 to 2013, identifying four phases: development, expansion, stabilization/diversification, and declining yields/market contraction. While the sector initially grew through the Argentine hake fishery and maintained a role as a net exporter, it currently faces a crisis characterized by decreasing yields of main target species and a rise in seafood imports, which now account for a third of domestic consumption. The findings suggest that a lack of a clear management framework and increasing fishing pressure have undermined the sector's resilience, necessitating a shift in the exploitation model.

• The Uruguayan industrial fishery sector evolved through four distinct long-term phases: development, expansion, stabilization/diversification, and finally, declining yields and market contraction.
• The sector's initial growth was driven by the Argentine hake fishery, which saw sustained increases in landings, nominal effort, and fleet capacity before eventually trending downward, leading to a diversification policy targeting more valuable species at lower trophic levels.
• Uruguay has historically been a net exporter of seafood, but the domestic market is increasingly dominated by imports with more competitive prices, which now represent one-third of all seafood consumed.
• The current crisis in the Uruguayan fishery sector, marked by dwindling exports and falling yields, is attributed to increasing fishing pressure and the absence of a clear management framework.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Uruguayan fisheries under an increasingly globalized scenario: long-term landings and bioeconomic trends. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/uruguayan-fisheries-under-an-increasingly-globalized-scenariolong-term-landings-and-bioeconomic-trends/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Uruguayan fisheries under an increasingly globalized scenario: long-term landings and bioeconomic trends. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/uruguayan-fisheries-under-an-increasingly-globalized-scenariolong-term-landings-and-bioeconomic-trends/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Uruguayan fisheries under an increasingly globalized scenario: long-term landings and bioeconomic trends |date=13 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/uruguayan-fisheries-under-an-increasingly-globalized-scenariolong-term-landings-and-bioeconomic-trends/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025uruguayan, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Uruguayan fisheries under an increasingly globalized scenario: long-term landings and bioeconomic trends}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/uruguayan-fisheries-under-an-increasingly-globalized-scenariolong-term-landings-and-bioeconomic-trends/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }